This is a beautiful course around the Cheshire countryside which starts at the local leisure centre on the outskirts of town.  The race starts on the athletics track which makes for a very fast start.

Once out of the town the route itself is very pretty and there is plenty to see.  It is also very well supported for a relatively small race and the on course marshals and water station volunteers were all extremely cheerful and encouraging.

The course has two big hills. One at mile 5 and one from mile 10-12.  They seem relentless at first but once used to them I managed fine (the first one was tough though!). 

The only part of the route I didn’t enjoy was during a section on the main road back into Macclesfield, where the pavement was quite narrow and it was difficult to pass other runners without stepping off the pavement into the traffic.  Having said that it wasn’t very long before we were running back down another quieter road. It’s probably worth mentioning that this course does not have fully closed roads, but most of them are so quiet that this isn’t really a problem.

The final part of the route was downhill back into Macclesfield to the leisure centre athletics track and I found myself speeding up as I hit the track towards the finish line.  The support from spectators was again superb, bearing in mind that I was one of the final 40 across the line.

Once over the timing mat I soon had a medal around my neck and a cotton tote bag full of goodies in my hand, also the obligatory water and banana too.

It was easy to both park and leave the race and all the parking was free.  Photography was courtesy of Bryan Dale and the pictures were on his website a few days later, free to download.

The race was good value.  I paid £25 including booking fee.  There was a tshirt available too for another £10 but I booked too late to order one which was a shame. The medal itself is great quality for such a small event.

Would I run it again? Yes, maybe not next year but one day, if only to see if I can do better on those hills!